opera and concerts in london and beyond

13 May 2012

Stefan Herheim's Xerxes opens in Berlin

Stefan Herheim's new production of Handel's Serse opens tonight at the Komische Oper Berlin (sung auf Deutsch as Xerxes). Designed in the now-familiar mix of periods and styles, it incorporates baroque style flat sets, neon signs, blokes dressed as sheep and possibly more cross-dressing than strictly required. Scroll down to see how he tackles Ombra mai fu.

6 Comments

Agree this looks wonderful. Could ROH import it as they did with Niobe? Or bring it over at once to set before the Queen for her Jubilee! So much more appropriate than the Water Music. And the sets can be recycled for productions of Rake's Progress, Gypsy and Shaun the Sheep.

I found myself at the Komische Oper in Berlin in 2008 after bingeing on 4 nights of opera and ballet in Vienna for about 3 euros a night, gotta love those standing tix (I live in Australia, the rest of opera world is very far away)

Anyhoo, I saw the wierdest production of Marriage of Figaro, I don't remember much but I remember at one point there were 2 guys dressed in cute plushy tiger outfits singing "blauen augen" a lot. But 15 euros well spent and it's a lovely little opera house. This Xerxes production looks stunning though.

I was lucky enough to attend the premiere yesterday and yes, this was rather spectacular, a total success. Regardless of the countless references I probably missed, he managed to make out of Handel something impressively entertaining.

Plus at the open after-party upstairs I got to meet briefly Mr Herheim. A night to remember.